Little Esther

Esther Phillips was a majorly talented but ultimately doomed blues belter. Starting out with Johnny Otis in the early 50s as Little Esther, the 15 year old began her journey along the path of record business abuse and heroin comfort. This single was cut during her stint with Atlantic in the mid-60s, and it shows the broad range of material she was capable of. In the '70s she cut an album for the Kudu label called "From A Whisper To A Scream" which included a Gil-Scott Heron song called "Home Is Where The Hatred Is". I haven't heard it, but I sure want to. Basically, this single has whetted my appetite for more. Esther's long time love affair with things that were bad for her finally wound up killing her at age 48.

Mike

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on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 5:11 AM.
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